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Price Drops on Wildenstein Mansion

NEW YORK CITY.- The billionaire gallerist Guy Wildenstein is re-listing his New York townhouse at a discounted price after the property failed to sell.

According to The Real Deal, Wildenstein knocked almost $10 million off the initial asking price and put the Manhattan mansion at Sutton Square back on the market last Wednesday for $39.8 million.

Records show that the dealer paid $32.5 million for the 9,600 square foot property in 2008. The luxurious abode reportedly boasts five bedrooms, 10-and-a-half bathrooms, six fireplaces, river views, a glass rotunda, and a private garden.

Accused of and money laundering and evading over $500 million in taxes in France, Wildenstein faces the possibility of a four-year prison sentence and a €250 million ($261 million) fine. Prosecutors have labelled the case the “longest and most sophisticated fraud of the fifth French Republic.” The verdict from a Paris court is expected in January.

In light of the allegations leveled against Wildenstein, two family members, and their financial advisors; the Wildensteins have sought to offload several parts of their extensive New York City property portfolio, including the family’s Upper East Side townhouse at 19 East 64th Street, which went under contract for $81 million in early December, two years after the state of Qatar walked away from a $90 million deal for the building at the 11th hour.

In November, the Wildensteins sold their Upper East Side two-story former fire station at 159 East 87th Street—once used by Andy Warhol as a studio—for $9.9 million.